Kalam calls for formation of World Space Council

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday called for the formation of a World Space Council of spacefaring nations to oversee space exploration and societal applications of space technology.Kalam was inaugurating a national conference on ‘Space Transportation Systems (STS): Opportunities and Challenges’ jointly organised by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE).Kalam said that pooling of resources by spacefaring nations will see a quantum jump in space exploration and will transform space exploration into a low-cost affair.He elaborated on his World Space Vision 2050, an aim of which is to ensure that Earth, Moon and Mars develop into economic centres of humanity. Kalam said that spacefaring nations should join hands to find solutions to major problems facing mankind such as energy independence, water scarcity, healthcare and education issues and accurate prediction of the weather.Kalam envisioned Moon as an industrial centre while human habitats were developed in Mars. Spacefaring nations should put their heads together to work out how solar energy can be profitably harvested from space and transmitted to earth.He suggested that nano energy packs, akin to small batteries, can help transfer energy harnessed by space-based solar power plants to earth. ISRO chairman K Radhalrishnan stressed the need for ensuring high reliability of space transportation systems. INAE president Dr Baldev Raj, VSSC director P S Veeraraghavan, LPSC director S Ramakrishnan, ISAC director T K Alex, Sriharikota Spaceport director M C Dathan spoke.